Smokers to pay for public health insurance in Maryland?

[Somdmommy]

And I don't want to pay for the medical treatment for a slow, painful death that is a 100% probability for those that choose to sit on their butts and eat snack cakes and french fries.

This could become a moot point if everyone were responsible for their own health care instead of trying to Socialize it.

She shoots! She scores!

 

[Speedy70]

And I don't want to pay for the medical treatment for a slow, painful death that is a 100% probability for those that choose to sit on their butts and eat snack cakes and french fries.

This could become a moot point if everyone were responsible for their own health care instead of trying to Socialize it.

She shoots! She scores!

Granted, a lot of Americans do not make the best choices in their diet. However, eating is not an option, smoking is.

 

[Ken King]

2 carton limit not 2 pack is what I always heard. If it were a 2 pack limit I'd think state cops would be plucking people off left and right as they came across the nice bridge.

Ken King?

Huntr1 is right, we've talked about this before. http://compnet.comp.state.md.us/red/attb/default.asp

How strict is it enforced? Don't know, but I have never been searched in all the years I've transitted back and forth and have exceeded the limit.

 

[Somdmommy]

Granted, a lot of Americans do not make the best choices in their diet. However, eating is not an option, smoking is.

Eating my not be an option, but eating a whole pag of chips, drinking a case of soda, and a whole cake is an option!!!!!!!!

 

[dck4shrt]

And I don't want to pay for the medical treatment for a slow, painful death that is a 100% probability for those that choose to sit on their butts and eat snack cakes and french fries.

This could become a moot point if everyone were responsible for their own health care instead of trying to Socialize it.

She shoots! She scores!

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Obesity is #2. The problem is that obesity has multiple pathways to its occurence which aren't all preventable. The CDC has shown that a certain portion of the population has genetic dispositions to being obese. We can't readily tell if someone is obese because they chose to be or because their genes helped them get that way.

Responsibility and health care in the same sentence? I don't think so.
Paying a cigarette tax is akin to being responsible for your own health care if you choose to smoke.

I sense we are headed towards a Darwinian conclusion to this topic.

 

[mAlice]

Granted, a lot of Americans do not make the best choices in their diet. However, eating is not an option, smoking is.

What you shove down your face is as much an option as getting your fat ass off the couch and taking a walk.

 

[Speedy70]

Eating my not be an option, but eating a whole pag of chips, drinking a case of soda, and a whole cake is an option!!!!!!!!

I'm not disagreeing with that. :shrug:

 

[mAlice]

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Obesity is #2. The problem is that obesity has multiple pathways to its occurence which aren't all preventable. The CDC has shown that a certain portion of the population has genetic dispositions to being obese. We can't readily tell if someone is obese because they chose to be or because their genes helped them get that way.

Responsibility and health care in the same sentence? I don't think so.
Paying a cigarette tax is akin to being responsible for your own health care if you choose to smoke.

I sense we are headed towards a Darwinian conclusion to this topic.

That is such

The percentage of the population that is obese due to genetic disposition or thyroid is so small it's laughable. If you wanna' start throwing this crap around and expect someone to take you seriously, I suggest you back it up.

 

[mAlice]

Paying a sugar and chocolate tax is akin to being responsible for your own health care.

I sense we are headed towards a Darwinian conclusion to this topic.

 

[DoWhat]

Cigarettes that don't bear the proper Maryland tax stamps may be seized as contraband, along with any vehicle used in transporting the untaxed cigarettes.

Make sure you take the clunker.

 

[Somdmommy]

"We can't readily tell if someone is obese because they chose to be or because their genes helped them get that way."


It doesnt matter if someones parents are overweight, that doesnt mean that the child cant get off their ass, take a walk, and eat right.

People today are LAZY!!! They dont go outside, they eat CRAP.

 

[vraiblonde]

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Obesity is #2.

I would like to see some statistics on that because I've always read that heart disease is the #1 killer, and obesity is the #1 cause of heart disease.

I sense we are headed towards a Darwinian conclusion to this topic.

Cool. Then they should forget taxes on cigarettes, make them as cheap as possible and encourage smoking. That way, when we die prematurely, the government can have our Social Security money to fritter away as they see fit.

Nothin' but net!

 

[huntr1]

2 carton limit not 2 pack is what I always heard. If it were a 2 pack limit I'd think state cops would be plucking people off left and right as they came across the nice bridge.

Ken King?

From the MD Comptroller's Website

Maryland residents can bring no more than two packs of untaxed cigarettes into Maryland, while nonresidents passing through are limited to one carton. Cigarettes that don't bear the proper Maryland tax stamps may be seized as contraband, along with any vehicle used in transporting the untaxed cigarettes.

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau

 

[dck4shrt]

I would like to see some statistics on that because I've always read that heart disease is the #1 killer, and obesity is the #1 cause of heart disease.


Cool. Then they should forget taxes on cigarettes, make them as cheap as possible and encourage smoking. That way, when we die prematurely, the government can have our Social Security money to fritter away as they see fit.

Nothin' but net!

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data/health_consequences/mortali.htm

 

[DoWhat]

From the MD Comptroller's Website

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau

Read the other posts prior to posting, please.

 

[Somdmommy]

http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/hw252864

What is obesity?

Obesity is an ongoing disease, not a cosmetic problem. It means that you have excess body fat that is putting your health at risk.

When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight.

Family: If your family members are obese, you may have a genetic tendency to gain weight. But genetics alone do not determine your weight. Your family also influences diet and lifestyle habits that can lead to obesity.

 

[Speedy70]

I would like to see some statistics on that because I've always read that heart disease is the #1 killer, and obesity is the #1 cause of heart disease.

Maybe this will help -
http://www.nber.org/digest/jun03/w9468.html

 

[Ken King]

From the MD Comptroller's Website

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau

Boats, people. I say boats.

 

[huntr1]

Huntr1 is right

How strict is it enforced? Don't know, but I have never been searched in all the years I've transitted back and forth and have exceeded the limit.

I just barely recall hearing that when they raised the tax rates years ago (not in '02, before that), the popo had an operation where they would watch cars go over the 301 bridge, and if they came back within a set time frame, they would pull them over and check for cartons. In '02, I believe I recall hearing that they had a store in Va under survailance from Brunswick, MD (it's within sight from across the river) and were busting people that drove over to get smokes there and then come back.

 

[dck4shrt]

That is such

The percentage of the population that is obese due to genetic disposition or thyroid is so small it's laughable. If you wanna' start throwing this crap around and expect someone to take you seriously, I suggest you back it up.

Most people who are obese have a genetic disposition to it. It's not defined if they are going to be obese because of their genes, they just have an easier time getting that way, than say me, who could eat everything in sight and not gain a pound (not that I do that). CDC has done plenty of studies on families genes, twins that are separated and obesity. There is a strong link.
I'm not denying that our lifestyle, dietary shifts, etc, are playing a huge role in this, but I am saying is that some people are more 'set up' for disaster than others.